It will forever go down as one of the biggest what ifs in NBA history as who knows what those two legends could have accomplished together. Now with Paul recently announcing his retirement from the NBA, he gets the time to really reflect on everything that happened in his career, which of course includes the trade that never happened.

Paul appeared on The Tylil Show and spoke on the vetoed trade saying he was excited upon the news of the deal and explaining why the league ultimately cancelled the deal:

“Once the lockout ended and we went back to our teams, I got traded to the Lakers. At the time my team was owned by the NBA. The owner of my team ran out of money. So the NBA took over my team. The NBA was making decisions for my team…. Next thing you know, the league receded it. I was excited. They said be ready to play the whole year back here and then it was quiet. What happened was a few of the owners of the other teams said we just came out of a lockout and did a new CBA, they said we was all about competitive balance. So they said if I went to the Lakers, it wasn’t gonna be competitive balance. Now where’s the league?”

It was truly an unprecedented situation as the NBA did own the New Orleans Pelicans, so they had control over any decisions the team made. That, along with the league coming off a lockout in which owners were complaining about the lack of competitive balance for big market teams, combined to make many owners up in arms at the thoughts of the Lakers acquiring yet another superstar via trade.

Coincidentally, Paul would eventually be traded to the same big market, just the Los Angeles Clippers instead of the Lakers, where he made his biggest impact in making that franchise a viable contender for the first time. The Lakers would pivot and acquire another Hall of Fame point guard in Steve Nash along with Dwight Howard, but that famously failed to materialize into another championship.

The vetoed trade still goes down as one of the most unbelievable moments in recent NBA history and was truly a situation that will likely never be replicated. But many will always wonder what could have been if Paul and Bryant were able to be teammates in purple and gold.

Lakers’ LeBron James ‘very intrigued’ at Anthony Davis trade to Wizards

In the many years since, the Lakers have continued to acquire superstars via trade with the latest being Luka Doncic. The franchise sent away Anthony Davis to the Dallas Mavericks to make that deal happen and they have since dealt the big man to the Washington Wizards. And LeBron James is ‘very intrigued’ by what Davis and Trae Young can do in Washington next season.

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Over the past few weeks, Los Angeles has been struggling to defend at a high level and are not on a string defensively like last season. Bringing in Jones would help, but the Lakers probably need multiple moves if they truly want to compete.

James’ 3-point shooting is a concern at 33.3% this year, but flashes have been shown. Unfortunately, it does not look like New Orleans is willing to deal the 27-year-old along with other top talent on their roster, via NBA insider Chris Haynes:

Sources: New Orleans Pelicans are disappointing the market in informing teams that Zion Williamson, Trey Murphy, Herb Jones, Derik Queen and Jeremiah Fears will remain with the organization past Feb. 5 trade deadline.

— Chris Haynes (@ChrisBHaynes) January 9, 2026

On the bright side, Lakers general manager Rob Pelinka has necessary time to pivot and evaluate other options. However, as documented in previous years, Pelinka is typically not wanting to spend extreme capital to acquire role players.

One could argue Jones is in the upper echelon of role players, which is why the Pelicans would ask for multiple first-round picks. L.A. only has access to one before the deadline in 2031, but it is not as valuable as it once was due to Luka Doncic’s arrival.

Obviously, the Lakers were interested in the lengthy wing as he would be a seamless fit alongside Doncic and Austin Reaves. Who knows if New Orleans would entertain trading with Pelinka once again, but there were certainly plenty of suitors lining up for Jones. Yet, it appears the Pelicans are holding off on a fire sale at least for the time being.

Pelicans wing Herb Jones may have never been available

As much as it was wishful thinking to picture Herb Jones in a Lakers uniform, it did feel like an outside shot of landing him from the start. Despite the Pelicans’ disastrous season, they feel like there is no urgency to move off their players right away.

Previous to Chris Haynes’ reporting, there remained uncertainty on whether Jones would ever become realistically available. But, the writing was on the wall as it was previously reported back in December that New Orleans was not demonstrating a willingness to move off their starting wing.

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The Lakers have not lost yet in 2026 and that continued as they pulled away from the Pelicans late to earn a 111-103 victory. That improved their record to 23-11 and 13-0 in clutch games this season.

As usual, it was LeBron James and Luka Doncic leading the way for the Lakers as they took over down the stretch. L.A.’s star duo is really building some chemistry with their two-man game and that was evident again in this one.

With the Lakers trailing entering the fourth quarter, James ripped off an 8-0 run and they never looked back. He had some big-time dunks, including a windmill in transition and an alley-oop from Doncic, to finish with 30 points, eight rebounds, eight assists, two steals and one block on 10-of-19 shooting.

Doncic was ice cold from deep early but came alive late to score 30 points of his own to go along with two rebounds, 10 assists, two steals and one block on 11-of-22 shooting. In the fourth quarter, he hit a circus 3-pointer falling out of bounds as the shot clocked expired to essentially put the game out of reach.

While James and Doncic put the game away, they got some help from their teammates as well. Deandre Ayton had his second straight strong performance with 18 points, 11 rebounds, three assists, one steal and two blocks on 9-of-16 shooting. Whenever the Lakers needed a rebound late, Ayton was there to secure it.

Marcus Smart also had a solid all-around game with 13 points on 5-of-10 shooting with six rebounds, four assists, one steal and one block. He provided a much-needed boost from deep by making 3-of-7 attempts while the rest of the team struggled in that department.

On the Pelicans side of things, Trey Murphy III was a thorn in the Lakers’ side all night. He led all scorers with 42 points on 14-of-26 shooting and added five rebounds and three assists in the loss. Zion Williamson also contributed 15 points, suiting up against L.A. for the first time in three games this season.

What’s next for the Lakers…

The Lakers will close out their quick two-game road trip with a tough matchup against the San Antonio Spurs in the second night of a back-to-back on Wednesday before returning home and hosting the Milwaukee Bucks on Friday.

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The Lakers remained shorthanded without key pieces, but were looking for their third straight win to begin 2026. They were able to do that as they closed out the Pelicans in the fourth quarter to earn a 111-103 victory.

Deandre Ayton found LeBron James for a dunk to kick things off, and then the opposite happened with the Lakers jumping out to the early lead before Jeremiah Fears responded with five straight points.

L.A. had it going from deep early with James and Marcus Smart both connecting on triples. One person whose 3-ball wasn’t falling early though was Luka Doncic, so he went into attack mode and finished some buckets in the paint to extend the lead to 29-25 at the end of the first.

Jarred Vanderbilt was making an impact off the bench for the Lakers with his energy, creating transition opportunities with steals and deflections. L.A. got careless with the ball from there though, allowing New Orleans to tie the game and then take the lead.

Trey Murphy III was hot from deep and Zion Williamson was attacking the paint, while the Lakers stayed ice cold from deep. Doncic found James for a dunk near the end of the half, but the Pelicans still took a 54-51 lead into the locker room.

The Pelicans extended their lead to seven to begin the third quarter before the Lakers finally got going from deep with Doncic and Smart both hitting. Ayton then went to work inside to regain the lead for his team.

Murphy had another response for his team though as the Lakers continued to have no answer for his scoring ability. He was hitting everything as the Pelicans re-established their lead with a strong close to the third quarter to take an 86-79 lead into the fourth.

James went sicko mode to begin the final quarter with two triples and an assist to Vanderbilt to quickly regain the lead. Ayton then had a pair of buckets to extend the lead to five.

The Lakers began to gain some separation from there as Doncic hit a pair of triples, including a ridiculously deep one to beat the shot clock. Their defense then locked in to close out a third straight win.

What’s next for the Lakers…

The Lakers will close out their quick two-game road trip with a tough matchup against the San Antonio Spurs in the second night of a back-to-back on Wednesday before returning home and hosting the Milwaukee Bucks on Friday.

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This is the second long stretch of games Vincent has missed this season due to injury as an ankle issue forced him to miss 10 games earlier this year. Vincent had been a trusted member of JJ Redick’s rotation this year as a solid defender and reliable shooter, but injuries continue to derail his ability to make an impact for this team.

Vincent did return to practice over the weekend and there remains optimism that he will be able to return on this quick two-game road trip. This contest against the Pelicans is the first in a back-to-back with the Lakers traveling to face the San Antonio Spurs on Wednesday, so it is possible Vincent could suit up in the second game.

With Austin Reaves still out due to his calf issue, and rookie Adou Thiero also being sidelined with an MCL sprain, the Lakers’ backcourt depth is being tested right now. Marcus Smart has stepped into the starting lineup, while two-way player Nick Smith Jr. has been the main guard coming off the bench. Redick has also given Dalton Knecht some minutes in the last couple of games in hopes of giving the Lakers offense a bit of a shot in the arm.

Additionally, forward Rui Hachimura won’t be suiting up on this road trip due to his own calf injury, so the Lakers are thin all around and even more reliant on Luka Doncic and LeBron James to carry this team offensively. Jake LaRavia and Jarred Vanderbilt have done a great job stepping up recently, but this team sorely needs some good injury news soon.

Vincent does seem close to returning to the court soon and hopefully he will be able to give this team a boost on both ends of the court when he does.

JJ Redick believes Lakers did better job of getting Deandre Ayton touches

Being without Reaves and Hachimura has taken a toll on the Lakers offense, but one player who could help is big man Deandre Ayton, although his touches have been inconsistent. But Redick believes the team did a better job of getting him involved offensively in their last game.

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